The Sleepwalking Chronicles
by witchfingers
Summary: A series of unrelated drabbles that focus on Cleao's curious sleepwalking habits.   [Orphen x Cleao]
1. The Sleepwalking Chronicles

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A series of _unrelated _drabbles that focus on Cleao's curious sleepwalking habits. Mainly Orphen x Cleao, but may eventually contain other pairings that will be announced at the start of each chapter.

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**Enjoy!**

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	2. Hint of Rain

_Sometimes, it's hard to tell the limit between what's a dream and what's reality. Cleao, umbrellas... Tell Orphen, he knows about it_

**Hint of rain**

* * *

"...Oh?" 

Majik stopped, and looked down at Leki with a big smile. "What are you doing here?" he asked, picking the pup up and letting him lick his cheek affectionately.

"Right, I guess you wanted to come for a walk," the sorcerer apprentice said, pleased with the company. "You know what, Leki? It's good to have your company once in a while. Let's go, it's still early and soon the market will be really crowded. And I have tons of things to buy..."

The blue cub yipped merrily and trailed after him.

...γ...Ω...γ...

Orphen was walking down a street that seemed to be floating in mid air, holding an umbrella. To the sides of the concrete path there was a blank, yellow-colored aura, and far in the distance he could see the road coming to an end in what looked like a deserted beach with hundreds of striped parasols. He blinked, puzzled, and found he couldn't bring his legs to stop walking.

The street melted into sand, and above him the yellow dimness turned into a grey, clouded sky. The umbrella in his grasp dissolved into nothing as the first droplets of rain started falling on his head. The drizzle turned into a heavy shower, but no matter how many times he wanted to shelter below one of the striped parasols, each one he tried ended up melting away into the air like his former umbrella. Frustrated, he sat on the sand- instead of the sea, a transparent liquid washed the shore, creating a confusing effect, and there was nothing where the horizon should have been.

A wave of misery shook him, as the rain drops soaked him to the bone. He had never felt so alone.

Suddenly the rain stopped.

Looking up, he saw a familiar, slim hand, holding a yellow umbrella over him. His eyes adverted to her face- her eyes didn't seem angry at him, which was always relieving, but it was still unsettling to see her around him with such ease when she was naked. She bent down next to him, and sat on the sand, holding the umbrella over both of them.

One by one, all the remaining parasols on the beach started disappearing.

She grabbed his face, without previous notice, and kissed him, letting go of the yellow umbrella. A gust of wind blew it into the transparent sea. Puzzled, Orphen looked up at the blonde and saw her crying.

"You're going away," she said.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not going anywhere," he reassured, still confused by the situation.

"You're going away," she repeated, spilling her tears onto his face. "What am I going to do now?" she demanded, kissing him hard again, pushing him against the bland sand. It wasn't a position the renegade sorcerer was comfortable in.

"Get _off_, Cleao, calm down- what are you talking about, anyway?"

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and pointed towards a raft that awaited calmly, beached by the time being. He was sure it hadn't been there before.

"That's not for me!" Orphen argued, trying to sit up. "It is, it's for you," Cleao replied stubbornly, "Azalie's waiting for you, and you have to go!"

Just as she was done talking, a figure materialized on the raft. Indeed, it looked like Azalie.

Orphen started to get desperate. "I'm not going anywhere! And that's not Azalie! She has nothing to do with this!"

"I don't want you to go..." the blonde said once more, digging her surprisingly long nails into his shoulders, leaving marks that stung softly. Something in his chest constricted.

"Snap out of it!" he cried, "I'm. Not. Leaving!"

Both Azalie and the raft faded away, just like the parasols had.

"You're not?"

He smiled in relief. "No, you big moron."

The beach and the incorporeal sea banished in turn, leaving them, both naked, on the same road where everything had started...

Orphen woke up startled. He wiped his face with his hand, trying to get his eyes open.

"I swear, if I keep getting these dreams, I'm going to go nuts."

As every time he had one of those freaky dreams, he had a while calming down before he could even begin recalling images. And when he did, once again, the vision of Cleao's completely unclothed body jumped into his mind. He felt his face burn for a couple of seconds. He really had to stop doing that- it made him feel a bit like Majik, and that was never good. He sighed in defeat, and sat up.

Right.

He should have been expecting what was next.

A bundle of sheets to his side seemed to come alive. It moved slowly first, until a familiar (and dreaded, in that moment) blonde head emerged from amongst the heap.

Orphen held his breath, ready for what was to come...

One, two, tree...

Cleao's eyes opened lazily. She looked around, sleepy. Her gaze barely stopped on Orphen's messy hair, still face, vestless chest.

He saw it coming...

"Lekiii..."

But nothing happened.

Gradually, the sorcerer started to relax. It looked like the wolven cub wasn't around that morning.

"Wrong room _again_, Cleao," Orphen taunted, smirking past the earlier scare- he owed it to her, for all the hotel rooms he'd had to fix with his own two hands the past few days.

The blonde looked at him, rather terrified, hints of blush still tingeing her cheeks. "You- you PERVERT!"

"Got that wrong, girl. I don't _sneak_ into other people's beds..."

"M-me neither!!!" she cried in self defense, as she sat up and wrapped around her the sheets the best she could.

Orphen let out a short laugh.

She fumed. "What's so funny, you pigheaded good for nothing sorcerer?"

He looked at her eyes sparkling with malice. "You look like a giant sleepwalking cocoon."

"I hate you," Cleao hissed.

"Likewise"

They glared at each other. For a long while. Until...

"Hey Orphen..." Cleao blinked, forgetting their argument for a moment.

He eyed her distrustingly. "Yeah?"

"What are those marks on your shoulders?"

"Marks? What are you talking about?" he said, disconcerted.

"Here," she said, brushing her fingertips over some reddish imprints on his tanned skin. His expression became blank...

...Ω...

_"I don't want you to go..." the blonde said once more, digging her surprisingly long nails into his shoulders, leaving marks that stung softly. Something in his chest constricted._

_"Snap out of it!" he cried, "I'm. Not. Leaving!" _

...Ω...

His face gradually turned crimson.

"Are you alright, Orphen?" Cleao asked, now sincerely concerned.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine..." he said fast, "You know what? Let's go downstairs and grab some breakfast..." He got up from bed, grabbed his vest, and headed for the door.

Noticing Cleao wasn't coming, he turned round to ask, but when he found her blushing as if she were on fire, he decided he'd rather not know.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," he stated wisely, and got out of the room as fast as he could.

Cleao nodded frantically, "Yeah, hehehe, good idea, I'll be right there!" she called.

As soon as Orphen was out of view for sure, she collapsed onto the bed.

"Man this is so weird!!!" she voiced out.

"I'm like totally sure I..." she blushed.

"Why on Earth would I be naked anyway?" she panicked.

"Where did I leave my nightgown? It must have slipped, yeah, that must be..." She searched the sheets, pillows, floor...

But the only thing she found, was a yellow umbrella.

* * *

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**...γ...Ω...γ...**

**Yay! My first SSO fic! ♪**

**And I've liked this anime for 4 or 5 years...**

**I'd really like to know what interpretations of the dream you can come up with :)**


	3. Just an assumption

Just an assumption

* * *

Whether it was wood, stone, dirt, concrete, she honestly didn't like the feel of the dirty floor beneath her bare feet. Sometimes, the night was also too cold for her nightgown. But she couldn't block all those sidetracked sensations as she winded her way to his room, because they were the undeniable proof that Cleao Everlasting wasn't a sleepwalker, as commonly believed. After all, that was just an assumption. She'd never really confirmed it, since there had never been any need. And if asked she wouldn't deny it.

Orphen _always_ noticed her come in alone, close the door after her, and stand by his bed, without haste. And when everything was silent in the hotel for sure, and thus safe, he sat up, bickered some at her. Sometimes she sat down, sometimes he'd get annoyed and tackle her, sometimes he'd even stand up and look out of the window with her.

No one would ever guess.

But, as much as they quarrelled, fought about any nuissance that came up, and often chased either away, all that done with all the descriptive words that were required... below carefully sculpted layers of pride that paraded in the broad daylight, there was another story to them.

Of course, it was a story no one else knew, and they weren't about to uncover their own little private, nighttime fantasy anytime soon... not until they were ready to leave immaturity, fears, prejudices, definitely behind.

It was talking and listening, it was a struggle to keep sanity in a piece, it was everything they wanted it to be. It was reassurance, of knowing that no matter what the world offered, there was always something certain to expect at the last end of twilights.

It was routine- the morning after, they'd wake up, look at eachother for forever, and then Cleao would scream, sic Leki on the sorcerer, and no one would ever know a thing.

* * *

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**R&R!!!**


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